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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22867033">Letters To A Niece</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenie18/pseuds/Queenie18'>Queenie18</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Immortal Alec Lightwood, Immortal Husbands, Immortal Magnus Bane, Letter, M/M, Though its small</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:28:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>881</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22867033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenie18/pseuds/Queenie18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do it with Damon at your side. Love him. Protect him. Cherish him. In the life as an immortal, love is the reason you will live on.”</p><p>—</p><p>Or Alec writes a letter to his descendant, Isabella Lightwood-Bane, on the decision to become immortal.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>114</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Letters To A Niece</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>My dearest Isabella,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Did you know that the day I adopted your great-great-great-grandfather, Rafael, was possibly one of the most happiest days of my life? We almost lost him, as fragile as our reputation was but then, we Lightwood-Banes always did everything to the extreme.You cannot fathom the feeling of complete overwhelming love and adoration for your children until you’ve experienced it yourself.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I asked him, once, whether he wanted to become immortal. He refused but never told me why, not fully. His answers were always vague and I never pushed him. It was only on his death bed, as he stared at me with aged yet beautiful eyes - that he wished not to because he was selfish. Because he loved a mortal and he wanted that mundane life with her. He wanted to grow old, to age alongside the world and to leave it a changed man.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Isabella, you do not truly understand what it actually means to be immortal until you forced to. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It is both a most sacred blessing but also a great curse.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Loving an immortal is not easy Isabella, and it won’t ever become easier.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I think I didn’t fully grasp it until I sat in a family dinner one day, with my family and our children by my side, and noticed just how aged they were. There is nothing quite like mortality until you’re forced to confront it, day after day.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When I was first mistaken as Izzy’s son, I cried. And when Jace could be passed off as my grandfather, I realised that immortality is not the dream so many have attempted to play it out to be.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There will be hard days. Sometimes you will lie in bed, immobile as the sheer magnitude of memories and lost love ones weigh you down. You will lash out on Damon, you must be prepared for that. It will happen. It always does.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But never blame him. If you do, I fear you may lose him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Magnus kicked me out of the house when I first brought up the topic of immortality. We don’t talk about it anymore, but I was gone for months - such a long time for a mortal - but was unwilling to return until Magnus was ready to talk to me. He was scared, I knew that. It is a difficult topic that may never have a happy ending.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the end, someone loses something to gain another.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>During those months away, I wrote out a very long list. I still have it, somewhere. I’m not sure where, however. Paper is rather valuable nowadays. I’d rather avoid mine being stolen as an artefact.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As I was saying, I wrote a list. It was simple, really. Just a continuous listing of why I wanted immortality. It was rather long and boring, and I’m sure I repeated myself several times when constructing it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What made him accept my wish of immortality was the final and yet, most important reason as to why I wanted it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Very simply, Isabella - I wanted immortality, not just for Magnus, but for my own self as well.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That is what you must find out. Whether you are choosing this for Damon or for your own selfish desires.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You must be selfish. Don’t chose this life for someone else, it will only led to regret and misery. Chose it for you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Life before Magnus was bound by duty and expectations. And after I met him, when I saw what he offered me - it was not enough. There was so much I wanted to do, to say, to see. And in the life I was walking down, I couldn’t have possibly done it all.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That was what immortality meant for me. It meant a chance to be anything, to do everything. It meant I could have my role as a Shadowhunter and still explore when I was satisfied I had done everything as Consul. I had the opportunity to take both worlds, and to do it with the man I loved by my side.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I won’t lie to you and say it’ll be easy. You will watch Richard and Venessa die. And you will have to adapt to the emptiness that comes when your Parabati bond with Benjamin breaks. It is a pain you’ll never quite recover from.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And every so often, you’ll drift away from Damon. It happens, time is slower and not so obligated as an immortal. You may not see him for years, and that is okay.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Because in the end, you’ll return to one another.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Do it with Damon at your side. Love him. Protect him. Cherish him. In the life as an immortal, love is the reason you will live on.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Magnus made my world bright. He made it bigger, so much more and for everything he gave me, I am thankful.</em>
</p><p><em>Yes, I lost my siblings, my parents, their children</em> <em>. But in the end, I met so many new people and I had Max and Magnus and it was enough.</em></p><p>
  <em>I am so happy Isabella. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And if you really want this, if you really want forever, then grasp it and take it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Like I said, you cannot even begin to understand immortality and it’s wonderful potential until you live it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love your dearest uncle,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>~ Alec </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is tragically old but I’m spam posting so sue me.</p><p>This is.... trashy honestly but 🤷♀️</p><p>Comments and Kudos’ if you like :) need to spread the malec love ❤️❤️</p></blockquote></div></div>
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